A history of Australian optometry: two hundred years of beating the tyranny of distance and fighting political battles to find new roles and anew place in health care

Historical Significance: This book covers the history of optometry from 1800 to 2015 with two introductory chapters outlining the foundations of optometry as they emerged in Europe, the UK and the USA. Professor Barry Cole (1934 - ) was appointed the first full time member of the academic staff of the Australian College of Optometry in 1959 and immediately urged the College to negotiate with the University of Melbourne for the optometry course run by the College to be a degree course of the University. This occurred in December 1960. With John Nathan and Geoff Henry he started the first research program of the College. He became Director of the College in 1964 succeeding John Nathan. He was appointed Head of the Department of Optometry in the University of Melbourne when it was established in 1973 and was appointed the foundation professor of optometry in 1978. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 1999. His profile can be found on this web site under the tab 'People who made history'.